Personal Branding: Make it a Habit in 2013!

As you’ve heard me say before, a powerful personal brand allows a business owner to differentiate himself and his business from the competition. It allows him or her to charge a premium price and still attract a steady stream of new business. Properly leveraged through direct marketing, a powerful personal brand can completely revolutionize any business. I have personally seen it happen time and time again.

But building a personal brand is not as simple as pushing a button. A powerful personal brand takes time and commitment to construct— but that commitment pays off handsomely as the brand begins to grow.

Like many other forms of marketing, for a personal branding campaign to be successful, it must feature consistent effort. You can’t simply wake up one morning, decide to spend three hours working on your personal brand, and then forget about it for another two months. That approach will lead to frustration, and little in the way of results.

Instead, personal branding must become a habit—part of your everyday routine and system.

Yes, you’re busy. I get it. The demands of running your business are non-stop—the last thing you are looking for is more work. But you find time to brush your teeth twice a day, right? You take the time to straighten your tie before heading out the door. Where do you find the time and the energy? You don’t have to “find” the time—you just do it, because it’s a habit. And that’s what personal branding needs to become. A habit. This could mean a couple of minutes on Twitter after lunch each weekday, it could mean taking the time to personally call your customers to check in with them, or it could mean attending a networking function every week. (Note: if this is too much for you, get your team involved! Find a social media savvy member of your team and place him or her in charge of your social media presence. Just make sure that you set clear expectations and hold him/her accountable!)

Personal branding isn’t about flashes of brilliance. It’s about being yourself, consistently, and engaging with the world around you. You’ll see limited results from your networking efforts if you only make it to a function three times per year. This applies to social media as well—one Facebook post or Tweet each month is much less effective than getting involved more frequently, because the point is to build a connection with your audience. And you can’t do that without consistent interaction. That’s why it’s critical that you are active regularly. You don’t have to feel inspired—you just have to be there, and be yourself.

Effective branding requires consistent activity. But you aren’t going to be able to be active consistently unless you establish a habit. It could be first thing in the morning, it could be the last thing you do before you leave the office, it could be after lunch, it could be between meetings—but whenever it is, find time to dedicate to your personal brand and start building the habit! If you’d like to learn more, or if you need some guidance as you get started, feel free to get in touch with me or any of the Agents at our Agency today!

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